Multiple explosions were heard in Isfahan early on Friday, which Iranian officials said were because of air defenses firing at a suspicious object. However, Israeli and Western media, citing US officials, said Israel had launched an airstrike in response to Tehran’s missile and drone attack on the regime on April 13 in retaliation for a strike two weeks earlier on the Iranian consulate in Syria.
On Saturday, Israel’s Channel 12 reported that the “Iranians mock us” after Iranian media outlets reported on a reaction by far-right Israeli cabinet minister Itamar Ben-Gvir who took to X social media platform quickly after the explosions in Isfahan, using a Hebrew slang word that means “lame”.
The move by Ben-Gvir, who had called for a “crushing response” to Iran’s attack on the regime, drew backlash from Israeli officials in the wake of no official comment by Tel Aviv about the Friday incident in Isfahan.
Ben-Gvir faced criticism for what was seen as simultaneously confirming the Israeli attack and downplaying it.
The regime’s opposition leader Yair Lapid slammed Ben-Gvir for causing “heavy damage” to Israel’s security, its image and international status.
“In an unforgivable one-word tweet, Ben-Gvir managed to mock and shame Israel from Tehran to Washington. Any other prime minister would have thrown him out of the cabinet”, Lapid said.
Ben-Gvir’s tweet and Lapid’s condemnation of him are seen as another sign of growing rifts within the Israeli cabinet as it faces widespread public discontent and international anger over its months-long war on Gaza.
The Israeli public has time and again held rallies to vent anger at their cabinet’s failure to bring back over 100 captives still remaining in Gaza since October 7 when the war began.
The regime also faces international uproar over targeting and killing Palestinian civilians in Gaza and restricting humanitarian aid to them.
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